Patek Philippe launches Cubitus – the watchmaker’s first new collection in 25 years

The Cubitus is billed as a sporty chic watch with a distinctive square shape and rounded corners. The much-anticipated new line made its debut with three models.

Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe has launched a new collection – its first in more than two decades since the Aquanaut in 1997 and the Twenty~4 in 1999.

The Cubitus collection is billed as an “elegant sporty” offering targeted at a younger demographic, sporting a square-shaped case with rounded corners and a dial adorned with horizontal relief embossing. It made its debut on Oct 17 at a private launch held in Munich, Germany.

There are three models – the Cubitus Instantaneous Grand Date, Day and Moon Phases (Ref 5822P/001) in platinum, the vintage-inspired two-tone Cubitus in steel and rose gold with a blue sunburst dial (Ref 5821/1AR-001) and a steel Cubitus with an olive-green sunburst dial (Ref 5821/1A-001). CNA Luxury was part of a select group of press invited to Munich to discover the new collection. Measuring a sizable 45mm, the Cubitus has a masculine, yet slim profile that sits comfortably on the wrist.

In conceptualising the collection, Thierry Stern, president of Patek Philippe, said that the target was to create a “sporty, classy watch”. Stern pursued the square shape as “I didn’t have many of them in the collection”, he shared in an interview session with media. In fact, 85 per cent of watches in the industry are round, he added.

“To have a complete collection, [a square watch] has to be part of your collection,” Stern continued. “When I look at the whole history of Patek, we didn’t make a lot of them, and we especially never made a watch for younger target market.”

The shape is certainly a divergence from the brand’s traditional round, rectangular and tonneau silhouettes. “It was a personal challenge to me as nobody expected me to go there. Nobody would have bet that Patek Philippe would develop a square, younger watch, that’s why I really enjoyed [creating it],” said Stern. 

The design of the watch took four years to complete, with another two years to develop the movement. With the Cubitus, Stern is riding on the popularity of elegant, sports chic watches as more casual dress codes become the norm.  

“This is a good segment. People enjoy wearing [these watches] with a suit or without a suit,” said Stern. “We used to wear ties every day, now we don’t do that anymore. That’s why [I’m leaning more] into this sporty segment.”

While the Cubitus does bear some resemblance to the Nautilus, it is something that Stern readily admits to and does not shy away from. “I was definitely inspired by the Nautilus, because it’s such a strong design. When I looked at it, I thought, how can I do something as strong as the Nautilus, but in a square shape?”

In fact, he tried “many different styles” but was unhappy with earlier versions as they were “too thick”. He calls the collection the “little brother of Nautilus”, but with its “own DNA”.

The Cubitus Instantaneous Grand Date, Day and Moon Phases Ref 5822P/001 (S$128,000; US$97,419) is a technical model that unites a large-format date, moon phase and day of the week, all changing instantaneously. To achieve this, a new caliber 240 PS CI J LU self-winding movement was developed, for which six patent applications were filed.  The model features a transparent sapphire-crystal caseback. As with all Patek platinum models, a diamond is set into the bezel at 6 o’clock, this time in a baguette cut. The watch is paired with a navy-blue strap with cream contrasting stitching, and fold-over clasp in platinum bearing the collection name, Cubitus.

The Ref 5821/1AR-001 (S$88,700) in two-toned steel and rose gold exudes a retro charm. The elegant blue sunburst dial features applied baton-style hour markers and rounded baton-style hour and minute hands, all in rose-gold with a white luminescent coating. An inlaid frame in rose gold decorates the date aperture at 3 o’clock.

The model is powered by the caliber 26-330 S C self-winding movement, endowed with a stop-seconds mechanism that allows the watch to be synchronised with a time signal to an accuracy of one second.

The steel Ref 5821/1A-001 – likely to be the collection’s bestseller – features an olive-green dial illuminated by a fine sunburst motif. The applied baton-style hour markers and rounded baton-style hour and minute hands are all in white gold with a luminescent coating. An inlaid frame in white gold decorates the date aperture at 3 o’clock.

The model is also powered by the caliber 26-330 S C self-winding movement. With a price tag of S$59,700, Stern calls the steel model a “high-end entry watch”. Although it is an entry-level option into the world of Patek Philippe, it sits on the higher end of the standard watchmaking spectrum. “We are Patek Philippe, I will never [produce] a watch which is €5,000 (US$ 5,415; S$7,115) or €10,000. That’s not my segment,” Stern stated.

With the Cubitus collection adding diversity to Patek’s line-up, Stern hopes to attract a new generation of clients to the brand. “Of course, it will be difficult for new clients [to purchase the watch], because [existing clients] of retailers will certainly be the first ones to receive it,” Stern admitted. “But yes, I also want to [broaden our offerings] a bit more to other people, because not everybody likes the Aquanaut or the Nautilus so this is a nice, good new option.”

Stern hinted that more models will join the collection in the future. “This is just the start, the birth of the collection. There will be certainly some brothers and sisters coming in the future,” he teased.

Days before the official launch of the collection on Oct 17, a picture of one of the new models had leaked online, sparking reactions on forums and social media. Opinions were divided, with some criticising the design.

To the critics, Stern has this to say: “Ninety nine per cent of the people who made those [negative] comments, they are not our customers. The rest [of our customers] who did make those comments, I can bet that more than 50 per cent of those people will place an order.”